So it’s been a couple weeks since my last post. Lots of training and learning has taken place plus lots of excitement in the MMA world. Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor. I can’t express how excited I am about this fight. I’ve generally always rooted for the underdog and I remember starting to get into MMA when Nate’s brother, Nick, fought GSP. I recall Nick being outspoken about how everyone seemed to like GSP but disliked him and how he felt like everyone was against him because of this. Although Nick lost that fight, his mental toughness won me over and I’ve been a Diaz fan ever since.
It was after Nate’s last fight with Michael Johnson that really got me excited about the younger Diaz brother. Let’s not get it twisted. Nate is an OG in the fight game and for me to just recently realize how good he is speaks volumes about how I have only just started really following the sport. After watching Nate beat the hell out of Johnson for 3 rounds it was clear that I couldn’t be a fan of one Diaz brother or the other, it had to be both. This lead to me subscribing to fight pass, and watching as many fights on each of the Diaz brothers as possible.
Their style could be described as boxers with tremendous volume and cardio. They are a tsunami of punches that will drown the opponents if left unchecked. Furthermore, while not possessing any superior wrestling skills, the Diaz brothers seem to be just as comfortable grappling as they are on their feet. Their jiu jitsu is in the upper echelons for MMA fighters and footage has surfaced of the Diaz brothers being competitive with some of the best pure jiu jitsu artists out there (see Ryan Hall vs Nate and Roy Dean vs Nick). Granted, these grappling matches occurred A LONG time ago and all of the participants have evolved to such a level that the results for each fight would be very different today. However, it is a testament to how dedicated the Diaz brothers are to their craft. It is also why I titled this post on authenticity. Nate and Nick live and breathe the warrior lifestyle. People call them brash and arrogant which to some extent may be true, but many of the greatest athletes (and warriors/ soldiers for that matter) of all time will say that confidence going into any competition is very important. The talk is how Nate and Nick express their confidence. If you watch the vast majority of their fights, once it is over, the Diaz brothers have nothing but respect for their opponents. Always singing praises and congratulating them on a fight well fought. The Diaz name in MMA is as authentic as they come, and it is one reason why I consider myself a fan of theirs.
Some of the best examples of their jiu jitsu used in MMA would be Nick VS Cyborg Evangelista in Strikeforce and Nate vs Kurt Pellegrino during UFC Fight Night 13. In terms of boxing, Nate took Marcus Miller (highly decorated in pure boxing himself) and Michael Johnson to school while Nick used a very technical style against Paul Daley (another elite striker) and Frank shamrock.
For the McGregor fight, my prediction is that it goes the distance and ends in a controversial split decision for Conor. Nate isn’t a knockout artist and although Conor has the power necessary to knock most fighters out, Nate is well known for his granite chin which I think will negate any knockout punches Conor throws. Nate is a volume puncher but McGregor is known for his movement training and evasiveness when it comes to striking so Diaz might be throwing lots of punches, but I don’t expect as many to land as usual. Furthermore, because of his movement and punching power, Conor is quite a good counter puncher, so every time Diaz throws a punch is an opportunity for Conor to utilize this. Like I said though, Nate has a granite chin and this toughness won’t allow for Conor to land any knockout punches. Therefore, on the feet, we’re at a stalemate. Nate’s volume will allow him to land some punches, but Conor’s evasiveness will cut down on any significant strikes thrown by Nate. At the same time, Conor will counter some of this volume with his own punches, but Nate’s reach advantage (greater than the tale of the tape would lead you to believe), experience, and toughness wont let Conor deal any significant counter strikes.
On the ground, I give every advantage to Nate.It is his best chance to finish McGregor but Conor is too smart to play this game. Any time it goes to the ground, McGregor will refuse to engage and keep the fight on its feet, which I’m sure Nate will be just fine with.
Tip of the day: Leg positioning while opponent is in your crucifix.
What you are doing now: Once in the crucifix, throw your top leg over your opponents arm, triangle your legs, and squeeze your knees to keep his arm secure.
What you could do better: Once in the crucifix, throw your bottom leg over your opponents arm, triangle your legs, and fish for the wrist.
I’ve favored the crucifix for a little over a year now. I bought a copy of Artechoke media’s “Mastering the Crucifix” and ever since I’ve had lots of success using the crucifix against my training partners (including some high level brown belts). However, one problem that I’ve always faced is maintaining the position. A recent private lesson with my instructor has really helped to remedy this by addressing how I was using my legs. Basically, when I entered the position I would be squeezing my opponents arm between my legs, with my top leg thrown over my opponents arm, forming a triangle with the bottom leg. If I would squeeze my legs mercilessly while in this position, I’d usually be able to maintain it for a while, but eventually my opponent would slide their arm out and escape. My instructor advised that instead of throwing the top leg over my opponents arm, I should throw the bottom leg over and triangle my legs. So far, this positioning has been much more secure while in training and if I lose the position, it would be for something other than my leg position (ie- not using my arms effectively). Furthermore, once you throw your bottom leg over the arm and triangle your legs, you can use your top leg to fish for the opponents wrist. Depending on how your opponent reacts to being in the crucifix, if you are able to hook his wrist with your foot, you can shrimp your hips back and it can often lead to armbar/kimura.
Although I couldn’t find any specific videos showing this details, you can check out the video below which breaks down the Crucifix game of Baret Yoshida, widely regarded as having one of the best crucifix games in all of jiu jitsu.